“Under these circumstances (and his appearing highly delighted) concealment, I mean an attempt at it, would have proved nugatory. He stands arranged therefore a Cornet in the Troop to be Commanded by Lawrence Lewis (who I intended as his Mentor), Lawrence Washington junr. (of Chotanck) is the Lieutenant of the Troop. But all this it will be remembered is to be approved, first by the President, and consented to by the Senate to make it a valid act; and therefore, the less it is publicly talked of the better.
“Mrs. Washington does not seem to have the least objection to his acceptance of the Commission; but it rests with Mrs. Stuart to express her Sentiments thereon, and soon; as I requested the Secretary of War to forward the Commissions for this Troop of Light Dragoons, under cover to me.
“The only hesitation I had, to induce the caution before mentioned, arose from his being an only Son; indeed the only male of his Great great Grandfathers family; but the same Providence that wd watch over and protect him in domestic walks, can extend the same protection to him in a Camp, or the field of battle, if he should ever be in one.”
109 WGW, vol. 28, 11-10-1785. To George William Fairfax. “As I am in the habit of giving you trouble, I will add a little more to what my last, I fear, may have occasioned. The two youngest children of Mr. Custis: the oldest a girl of six years, the other a boy a little turned of four live with me. They are both promising children; but the latter is a remarkable fine one and my intention is to give him a liberal education; the rudiments of which shall, if I live, be in my own family. Having premised this, let me next, my good Sir, ask if it is in your power conveniently, to engage a proper preceptor for him? at present, and for a year or two to come, much confinement would be improper for him; but this being the period in which I should derive more aid from a man of Letters and an accomptant than at any other, to assist me in my numerous correspondences, and to extricate the latter from the disordered state into which they have been thrown by the war, I could usefully employ him in this manner until his attention should be more immediately required for his pupil.
“Fifty or Sixty pounds Sterling pr. ann. with board, lodging, washing and mending, in the family, is the most my numerous expenditures will allow me to give; but how far it may command the services of a person well qualified to answer the purposes I have mentioned, is not for me to decide. To answer my purposes, the Gentleman must be a Master of composition, and a good Accomptant: to answer his pupil’s, he must be a classical scholar, and capable of teaching the French language grammatically: the more universal his knowledge is, the better.
“It sometimes happens that very worthy men of the Cloth come under this description; men who are advanced in years, and not very comfortable in their circumstances: such an one, if unencumbered with a family, would be more agreeable to me than a young man just from college; but I except none of good moral character, answering my description, if he can be well recommended.
“To you my Dr. Sir, I have offered this my first address; but if you should think my purposes cannot be subserved in your circle, upon the terms here mentioned; I beg, in that case, that you will be so obliging as to forward the enclosed letter as it is directed. This gentleman has written to me upon another subject, and favored me with his lucubrations upon Education, wch mark him a man of abilities, at the same time that he is highly spoken of as a teacher, and a person of good character. In Scotland we all know that education is cheap, and wages not so high as in England: but I would prefer, on acct. of the dialect, an Englishman to a Scotchman, for all the purposes I want.” WGW, vol. 29, 3-10-1787. To Pres. Joseph Willard. WGW, vol. 31, 10-3-1790
“I request after you get to Philadelphia, and previous to our arrival there, that you wd. use your best endeavors to ascertain the characters, or reputation of such Schools as it may be proper to place [George Washington Parke] Washington at, as soon as we shall be fixed in our New habitation; particularly if there be any fit School in the College for him, under good and able Tutors, and well attended. His trip to Mount Vernon will be of no Service to him, but will render restraint more necessary than ever. If the College is under good regulations, and have proper Tutors there for boys of his standing to prepare them for the higher branches of education quere whether it would not be better to place him in it at once? the presumption being, that a system prevails, by which the gradations are better connected than they are in Schools which have no correspondence with each other. Mr. S[mith]is a man of acknowledged abilities, but it may not be well perhaps to say more in a letter, especially as his re-instatement may have given rise to a reform of that conduct wch. did not escape censure formerly.”
110 WGW, vol. 3, 6-5-1771. To Reverend Jonathan Boucher.
111 Ibid., vol. 30, 3-23-1789. To George Steptoe Washington. WGW, vol. 31, 12-5-1790.
112 Ibid., vol. 30, 9-22-1788. To Henry Lee.
113 Ibid., vol. 36, 1-22-1798. To David Stuart Ibid., vol. 28, 11-10-1785. To George William Fairfax. WGW, vol. 34, 2-18-1795. To William Augustine Washington. Ibid., vol. 27, 8-29-1784. To Reverend David Griffith.
114 Bishop William Meade, vol. I, p. 175, “At the end of the century the College of William and Mary was regarded as the hotbed of the infidelity and the wild politics of France. Strong as the Virginia feeling was in favour of the Alma Mater of their parents, the Northern Colleges were filled with the sons of Virginia’s best men. No wonder that God for so long a time withdrew the light of his countenance from it.... They complain, also, that those have been frequently sent to them ‘who were extremely unfit for the employments assigned them; ‘ and on that account, the education of the youth has been very defective; ‘ a natural consequence of which have been riots, contentions, and a dissipation of manners as unbecoming their characters as vitally destructive of the ends of their appointments.’”
These concerns seem to be hinted at by Washington. WGW, vol. 37, 1-7-1773. To Reverend Jonathan Boucher, “Dear Sir: From the best enquiries I could make whilst I was in, and about Williamsburg I cannot think William and Mary College a desirable place to send Jack Custis to; the Inattention of the Masters, added to the number of Hollidays, is the Subject of general complaint; and affords no pleasing prospect to a youth who has a good deal to attain, and but a short while to do it in. These considerations, added to a desire of withdrawing the mind of my Ward as much as possible from the objects which seem at present to have engrossd too much of his Attention; and moreover, to give him every advantage which is to be derivd from the best Publick Schools we have here (as there no longer seems to be any thoughts of his crossing the Atlantic) I have I think, determind to send him to the Philadelphia College; which, from the best Information I have been able to get, from those who have been educated themselves there, or have Children at it, stands equally fair with any other, and being nearer, is more agreeable to his Mother. About the middle of March (so that I may return in time for the April Court) is the time I have thought of to carry him there; previous to which I should be very glad to consult Mr. Smith the President (with whom I have some small acquaintance) on the terms it is proper for him to enter College; and were you, my good Sir, to do him and me the favour of having this matter adjusted by communicating your opinion by Letter, either to Mr. Smith directly, or indirectly through me, of his proficiency in the Classics and other branches of knowledge, it would be an acceptable Service, at the sametime that it might be proper to know, whether it would be best for him to take Chambers in the College, or board in the City, for as I am extreamly anxious to have his Education advanced, I could wish to have him so placed as to promote it. Mrs. Washington and Miss Custis joins me in wishing you, Mrs. and Miss Boucher the Compliments of the Season, and the Return of many happy new Years.”
115 WGW, vol. 36, 1-7-1798. To George Washington Parke Custis. (Emphasis added.) “ System in all things should be aimed at; for in execution, it renders every thing more easy.
If now and then, of a morning before breakfast, you are inclined, by way of change, to go out with a Gun, I shall not object to it; provided you return by the hour we usually set down to that meal.
From breakfast, until about an hour before Dinner (allowed for dressing, and preparing for it, that you may appear decent) I shall expect you will confine yourself to your studies; and diligently attend to them; endeavouring to make yourself master of whatever is recommended to, or required of you.
While the afternoons are short, and but little interval between rising from dinner and assembling for Tea, you may employ that time in walking, or any other recreation. After Tea, if the studies you are engaged in require it, you will, no doubt perceive the propriety and advantage of returning to them, until the hour of rest.
Rise early, that by habit it may become familiar, agreeable, healthy, and profitable. It may for a while, be irksome to do this, but that will wear off; and the practise will produce a rich harvest forever thereafter; whether in public, or private walks of Life.
Make it an invariable rule to be in place (unless extraordinary circumstances prevent it) at the usual breakfasting, dining, and tea hours. It is not only disagreeable, but it is also very inconvenient, for servants to be running here, and there, and they know not where, to summon you to them, when their duties, and attendance, on the company who are seated, render it improper.
Saturday may be appropriated to riding; to your Gun, and other proper amusements.
Time disposed of in this manner, makes ample provision for exercise and every useful, or necessary recreation; at the same time that the hours allotted for study, if really applied to it instead of running up and down stairs, and wasted in conversation with any one who will talk with you, will enable you to make considerable progress in whatever line is marked out for you, and that you may do it, is my sincere wish.”
116 Compare here Smith’s sermon, “A Discourse on the Nature and Reasonableness of Fasting, And on The existing Causes that call us to that Duty. Delivered at PRINCETON, on Tuesday the 6th January 1795 Being the Day appointed By the Synod of New-York and New-Jersey, To be observed as a General Fast, By all the Churches of their Communion in those States; and now published in compliance with the request of the Students of Theology and Law in Princeton By SAMUEL STANHOPE SMITH, D.D. Vice-President and Professor of Moral Philosophy and Divinity, in the College of New-Jersey. Philadelphia: Printed by William Young, Bookseller, No. 52, Second Street, Corner of Chesnut-Street. Washington actually had in his library. Smith wrote, “Blessed Jesus! Thy gracious and heavenly mission has been rejected by blinded mortals who have no guide to certainty and truth but thee! Thy divine nature, and thy supreme dominion have been insulted by worms of the dust who have dared to rise in rebellion against thee!—Thy sole and meritorious atonement has been denied by miserable sinners who have no hope in eternity but thee!—My brethren! Shall not God punish by his righteous judgments, if he cannot bring to repentance, a guilty age which has impiously endeavored to drag the Son of righteousness from his sphere—which has insulted his glory, and blasphemed the astonishing stoops of his mercy? Every sincere believer in Jesus Christ must be deeply penetrated with these dishonors done to his Redeemer’s name. And he will find, in these daring impieties, in the general voice that surrounds him, and in his own heart, the subjects of profound repentance and contrition before God. Arrest, Lord! The growing profanity of the age! When will the iniquities of men come to an end, and the reign of truth and righteousness be extended from the rising to the setting sun!
What, then my brethren is our duty on this day? Is it not to humble our souls before God under his corrections? Is it not to make confession of our sins, and to turn from them with all our heart to the living and true God? Let us fervently address our prayers to the throne of his grace, that he would protect and bless our country—that he would endue with that wisdom which is from above, our legislators, our magistrates, and our judges—that he would promote the means of general knowledge, and extend the influence of true religion as the surest basis of the public weal—that he would teach us with sobriety, temperance, and thankfulness of heart, to enjoy the blessings of his providence, assured that, if we do not glorify him in the use of his mercies, he will glorify himself in the execution of his judgments. Let us, finally, implore from his mercy that he would spare the blood of our brethren shed by cruel and ferocious hands—that he would allay the convulsions that agitate the Christian world—and that he, who has all events, and the hearts of all men in his hands, would bring from the bosom of that chaos, a new creation of liberty and peace, and true religion over the whole earth—AMEN.”
117 WGW, vol. 35, 7-23-1797. To George Washington Parke Custis. “Dear Washington: Your letter of the 14th instant has been duly received, and gives us pleasure to hear that you enjoy good health, and are progressing well in your studies.
Far be it from me to discourage your correspondence with Dr. Stuart, Mr. Law, or Mr. Lewis, or indeed with any others, as well-disposed and capable as I believe they are to give you speciments of correct writing, proper subjects, and if it were necessary, good advice.
With respect to your epistolary amusements generally, I had nothing further in view than not to let them interfere with your studies, which were of more interesting concern; and with regard to Mr. Z. Lewis, I only meant that no suggestions of his, if he had proceeded to give them, were to be interposed to the course pointed out by Dr. Smith, or suffered to weaken your confidence therein. Mr. Lewis was educated at Yale college, and as is natural, may be prejudiced in favor of the mode pursued at that seminary; but no college has turned out better scholars, or more estimable characters, than Nassau. Nor is there any one whose president is thought more capable to direct a proper system of education than Dr. Smith; for which reason, Mr. Lewis, or any other, was to prescribe a different course from the one you are engaged in by the direction of Dr. Smith, it would give me concern. Upon the plan you propose to conduct your correspondence, none of the evils I was fearful of can happen, while advantages may result; for composition, like other things, is made more perfect by practice and attention, and just criticism thereon.
“I do not hear you mention anything of geography or mathematics as parts of your study; both these are necessary branches of useful knowledge. Nor ought you to let your knowledge of the Latin language and grammatical rules escape you. And the French language is now so universal, and so necessary with foreigners, or in a foreign country, that I think you would be injudicious not to make yourself master of it.”
118 WGW, vol. 35, 11-28-1796. To George Washington Parke Custis. “The assurances you give me of applying diligently to your studies, and fulfilling those obligations which are enjoined by your Creator and due to his creatures, are highly pleasing and satisfactory to me. I rejoice in it on two accounts; first, as it is the sure means of laying the foundation of your own happiness, and rendering you, if it should please God to spare your life, a useful member of society hereafter; and secondly, that I may, if I live to enjoy the pleasure, reflect that I have been, in some degree, instrumental in effecting these purposes.
“You are now extending into that stage of life when good or bad habits are formed. When the mind will be turned to things useful and praiseworthy, or to dissipation and vice. Fix on whichever it may, it will stick by you; for you know it has been said, and truly, “ that as the twig is bent so it will grow.” This, in a strong point of view, shows the propriety of letting your inexperience be directed by maturer advice, and in placing guard upon the avenues which lead to idleness and vice. The latter will approach like a thief, working upon your passions; encouraged, perhaps, by bad examples; the propensity to which will increase in proportion to the practice of it and your yielding. This admonition proceeds from the purest affection for you; but I do not mean by it, that you are to become a stoic, or to deprive yourself in the intervals of study of any recreations or manly exercise which reason approves.
‘T is well to be on good terms with all your fellow-students, and I am pleased to hear you are so, but while a courteous behavior is due to all, select the most deserving only for your friendships, and before this becomes intimate, weigh their dispositions and character well. True friendship is a plant of slow growth; to be sincere, there must be a congeniality of temper and pursuits. Virtue and vice can not be allied; nor can idleness and industry; of course, if you resolve to adhere to the two former of these extremes, an intimacy with those who incline to the latter of them, would be extremely embarrassing to you; it would be a stumbling block in your way; and act like a millstone hung to your neck, for it is the nature of idleness and vice to obtain as many votaries as they can.
“I would guard you, too, against imbibing hasty and unfavorable impressions of any one. Let your judgment always balance well before you decide; and even then, where there is no occasion for expressing an opinion, it is best to be silent, for there is nothing more certain than that it is at all times more easy to make enemies than friends. And besides, to speak evil of any one, unless there is unequivocal proofs of their deserving it, is an injury for which there is no adequate reparation. For, as Shakespeare says “He that robs me of my good name enriches not himself, but renders me poor indeed,” or words to that effect. Keep in mind that scarcely any change would be agreeable to you at first from the sudden transition, and from never having been accustomed to shift or rough it. And, moreover, that if you meet with collegiate fare, it will be unmanly to complain. My paper reminds me it is time to conclude. Affectionately, &c. “
119 WGW, vol. 36, 6-13-1798.
120 Custis, Recollections, pp. 173-174.
121 Ibid., p. 508.
122 WGW, vol. 34, 1-16-1795. To Eleanor Parke Custis. [Dear Nelly:] Your letter, the receipt of which I am now acknowledging, is written correctly and in fair characters, which is an evidence that you command, when you please, a fair hand. Possessed of these advantages, it will be your own fault if you do not avail yourself of them, and attention being paid to the choice of your subjects, you can have nothing to fear from the malignancy of criticism, as your ideas are lively, and your descriptions agreeable. Let me touch a little now on your Georgetown ball, and happy, thrice happy, for the fair who were assembled on the occasion, that there was a man to spare; for had there been 79 ladies and only 78 gentlemen, there might, in the course of the evening, have been some disorder among.the caps; notwithstanding the apathy which one of the company entertains for the “ youth “ of the present day, and her determination “never to give herself a moment’s uneasiness on account of any of them.” A hint here; men and women feel the same inclinations to each other now that they always have done, and which they will continue to do until there is a new order of things, and you, as others have done, may find, perhaps, that the passions of your sex arc easier raised than allayed. Do not therefore boast too soon or too strongly of your insensibility to, or resistance of, its powers. In the composition of the human frame there is a good deal of inflammable matter, however dormant it may lie for a time, and like an intimate acquaintance of yours, when the torch is put to it, that which is within you may burst into a blaze; for which reason and especially too, as I have entered upon the chapter of advices, I will read you a lecture drawn from this text.
“Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, therefore, contended that it cannot be resisted. This is true in part only, for like all things else, when nourishes and supplied plentifully with ailment, it is rapid in its progress; but let these be withdrawn and it may be stifled in its birth or much stinted in its growth. For example, a woman (the same may be said of the other sex) all beautiful and accomplished, will, while her hand and heart are undisposed of, turn the heads and set the circle in which she moves on fire. Let her marry, and what is the consequence? The madness ceases and all is quiet again. Why? not because there is any diminution in the charms of the lady, but because there is an end of hope. Hence it follows, that love may and therefore ought to be under the guidance of reason, for although we cannot avoid first impressions, we may assuredly place them under guard; and my motives for treating on this subject are to show you, while you remain Eleanor Parke Custis, spinster, and retain the resolution to love with moderation, the propriety of adhering to the latter resolution, at least until you have secured your game, and the way by which it may be accomplished.
“When the fire is beginning to kindle, and your heart growing warm, propound these questions to it. Who is this invader? Have I a competent knowledge of him? Is he a man of good character; a man of sense? For, be assured, a sensible woman can never be happy with a fool? What has been his walk in life? Is he a gambler, a spendthrift, or drunkard? Is his fortune sufficient to maintain me in the manner I have been accustomed to live, and my sisters do live, and is he one to whom my friends can have no reasonable objection? If these interrogatories can be satisfactorily answered, there will remain but one more to be asked, that, however, is an important one. Have I sufficient ground to conclude that his affections are engaged by me? Without this the heart of sensibility will struggle against a passion that is not reciprocated; delicacy, custom, or call it by what epithet you will, having precluded all advances on your part. The declaration, without the most indirect invitation of yours, must proceed from the man, to render it permanent and valuable, and nothing short of good sense and an easy unaffected conduct can draw the line between prudery and coquetry. It would be no great departure from truth to say, that it rarely happens otherwise than that a thorough-paced coquette dies in celibacy, as a punishment for her attempts to mislead others, by encouraging looks, words, or actions, given for no other purpose than to draw men on to make overtures that they may be rejected.
“This day, according to our information, gives a husband to your elder sister, and consummates, it is to be presumed, her fondest desires. The dawn with us is bright, and propitious, I hope, of her future happiness, for a full measure of which she and Mr. Law have my earnest wishes. Compliments and congratulations on this occasion, and best regards are presented to your mamma, Dr. Stuart and family; and every blessing, among which a good husband when you want and deserve one, is bestowed on you by yours, affectionately.”
123 WGW, vol. 34, 2-10-1796. To Elizabeth Parke Custis. “My dear Betsey: I have obeyed your injunction in not acknowledging the receipt of your letter of the first instant until I should hear from Mr. Law. This happened yesterday; I therefore proceed to assure you, if Mr. Law is the man of your choice, of wch. there can be no doubt, as he has merits to engage your affections, and you have declared that he has not only done so, but that you find, after a careful examination of your heart, you cannot be happy without him; that your alliance with him meets my approbation. Yes, Betsey, and this approbation is accompanied with my fervent wishes that you may be as happy in this important event as your most Sanguine imagination has ever presented to your view. Along with these wishes, I bestow on you my choicest blessings.
“Nothing contained in your letter, in Mr. Laws, or in any other from our friends intimate when you are to taste the sweets of Matrimony; I therefore call upon you, who have more honesty than disguise, to give me the details. Nay more, that you will relate all your feelings to me on this occasion: or as a Quaker would say “all the workings of the spirit within.”
“This, I have a right to expect in return for my blessing, so promptly bestowed, after you had concealed the matter from me so long. Being entitled therefore to this confidence, and to a compliance with my requests, I shall look forward to the fulfilment of it.
“If after marriage Mr. Laws business should call him to this the same room which Mr. Peter and your sister occupied will accomodate you two; and it will be equally at your service.
“You know how much I love you, how much I have been gratified by your attentions to those things which you had reason to believe were grateful to my feelings. And having no doubt of your continuing the same conduct, as the effect will be pleasing to me, and unattended with any disadvantage to yourself, I shall remain with the sincerest friendship, and the most Affectionate regard, etc.”
124 WGW, vol. 34, 2-10-1796. To Thomas Law. Sir: Yesterday’s Mail brought me your letter of the 4th Instant; and that of Saturday announced from Miss Custis herself, the Union which is pending between you. No intimation of this event, from any quarter, having been communicated to us before, it may well be supposed that it was a matter of Surprize.
“This being premised, I have only to add, that as the parties most interested are agreed, my approbation, in which Mrs. Washington unites, is cordially given; accompanied with best wishes that both of you may be supremely happy in the alliance. I must however, tho’ it is no immediate concern of mine, be permitted to hope, as the young lady is in her non-age, that preliminary measures has been, or will be arranged with her Mother and Guardian, before the Nuptials are Solemnized.
“We shall hope that your fortunes (if not before) will, by this event, be fixed in America; for it would be a heart rending circumstance, if you should seperate Eliza from her friends in this country. Whether the Marriage is to take place soon, or late, we have no data to judge from but be it as it will, if you should bring her to Philadelphia, we invite you both to this house. With very great esteem and regard I am etc.
WGW, vol. 37, 12-25-1798. To George Washington Motier de Lafayette.
“Your acquaintance Lawrence Lewis is appointed Captain of a Troop of Light Dragoons; but intends, before he enters the Camp of Mars to engage in that of Venus; Eleanor Custis and he having entered into a contract of marriage; which, I understand, is to be fulfilled on my birthday (the 22d. of Feby).
Washington Custis prefering a Military career to literary pursuits, is appointed Cornet in Lewis’s Troop, and Washington Craik a Lieutenancy. Young Carroll of Carrolton, will be a Volunteer Aid of mine, and Mr. Lear is my Secretary.” Washington’s “Diary” for February 22 records: “Morning raining. Mer at 30. Wind a little more to the Northward. Afterwards very strong from the No. Wt. and turning clear and cold. The Revd. Mr. Davis and Mr. Geo. Calvert came to dinner and Mass Custis was married abt. Candle light to Mr. Lawe. Lewis.”
